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Resilient Mountains

August 12, 2026

Mountains ADAPT Small Grants presenterAbout the project:

Resilient Mountains: Empowering People, Sustaining Ecosystems, and Scaling Nature-based Solutions and Innovation into Policy and Advocacy for Mountain Landscapes is a UNEP-led initiative aimed at enhancing the resilience of mountain socio-ecological systems to climate change and other stressors through integrated, inclusive and scalable nature-based solutions.

The project incorporates the second phases of the Adaptation at Altitude (A@A) and Mountains ADAPT components and related initiatives. In the South Caucasus, the project supports Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, with a particular focus on strengthening regional cooperation, knowledge exchange, climate adaptation action and access to adaptation financing.

The current implementation plan, under a Special Service/Funding Agreement (SSFA) between UNEP and the Caucasus Network for Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions (Sustainable Caucasus) centers on three interconnected areas:

  • Supporting a Regional Adaptation Dialogue in the South Caucasus (RADISC) to strengthen regional exchange, collaboration and science-policy linkages;
  • Promoting and supporting the Mountains ADAPT Small Grants Funding Scheme (SGFS) to enable concrete, locally driven mountain adaptation action;
  • Providing targeted capacity building and support to small-grants beneficiaries, helping strengthen their implementation plans, capacities, sustainability and connections with relevant policies.

Background 

Mountain communities and ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to climate change and other environmental pressures. In response, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is advancing Resilient Mountains, an initiative designed to enhance the capacity of mountain communities and ecosystems to respond to climate change and other pressures through practical, inclusive and adaptable solutions.

The project brings together the second phases of two complementary initiatives: Adaptation at Altitude (A@A), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Mountains ADAPT, supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK).

Adaptation at Altitude focuses on generating and sharing knowledge on climate change and adaptation in mountain regions and strengthening links between science, policy and decision-making. Its second phase runs until February 2028, with UNEP leading regional work in the South Caucasus.
Mountains ADAPT complements this regional and policy-oriented work by supporting practical, locally driven adaptation. Through a Small Grants Funding Scheme (SGFS), it aims to enable small and local organizations to develop and implement innovative, needs-based solutions that strengthen the resilience of mountain communities and ecosystems.

The Caucasus Network for Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions (Sustainable Caucasus) brings extensive experience in facilitating cooperation among stakeholders working on sustainable mountain development across the South Caucasus. As the Secretariat of the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region, Sustainable Caucasus also provides an important regional platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration. UNEP and Sustainable Caucasus have previously worked together on initiatives promoting sustainable mountain development in the region.

 

Project Activities

Regional Adaptation Dialogue in the South Caucasus: The project will support the development and implementation of the Regional Adaptation Dialogue in the South Caucasus (RADISC) as a platform for strengthening regional cooperation, knowledge exchange and science-policy linkages on climate adaptation.

Mountains ADAPT Small Grants Funding Scheme: The project will support the promotion and implementation of the Mountains ADAPT Small Grants Funding Scheme (SGFS) across Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Capacity Building and Peer Learning: The project will provide targeted support to the selected small-grants beneficiaries to strengthen their capacity to effectively implement and sustain their adaptation initiatives.